Nouvel, Odile Wall-Papers of France 1800-1850 : A Contribution to the Study of the Decorative Arts , London: A Zwemmer Ltd, 1981.

Illustrated by Margaret Timmers. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. 4to 0302005471 Dust jacket complete. Green cloth covered boards, slightly dull titling on spine. Book plate of Peter Foster, Surveyor of Westminster Abbey from 1973 to 1988: on f. paste down. 600 colour illustrations. 132 pages clean and tight. Between 1800 and 1850 wall-paper came of age; it achieved its technical autonomy and won a specific place in the evolution of the grammar of decoration in evidence of the privileged relationship that man nurtures with regard to the walls that protect him. This lovely source book of French wallpapers from the great period of their manufacture traces the four hundred year development of wall-paper production and focuses on the frenzied innovation in the use of papers, colours and designs in the early nineteenth century. The six hundred examples with which this survey is illustrated are drawn from three major archives: the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, the Musee de ('Impression sur Etoffes in Mulhouse, and the Bibliotheque Forney in Paris. Here are found all the important decorative elements typical of the period and most representative of the evolution of specific techniques. The collection is arranged by category and such classifications as repeat designs, vertical and arabesque panels, draperies and borders. Each caption gives date, designer (where known), printing technique, number of colours and the dimensions of the design repeats. This virtual glossary of ornament includes designs inspired by vast numbers of motifs- natural, geometric, architectural, from the Ancient World and the Orient, and contemporary European styles of the nineteenth century. Such manufacturing techniques as satining, block-printing, gilding and flocks are described in their historical context. Text and captions were written and assembled by Odile Nouvel, Curator of Wall-papers at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and the Introduction is by Jean-Pierre Seguin, a member of the Bibliotheque Nationale. A selected bibliography is included as well as an index of factories and an index of designers. (Book ref. 128496)  £35.00

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